Businesses in Preston and the surrounding area are among those named and shamed by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage.
According to data from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), employees affected by the shortfalls lost out on between £31 and £3,150 during the time they were underpaid.
The underpayments date back several years as they are based on HMRC investigations carried out between 2015-22 but have only just been published.
The DBT says each one named has since repaid the money owed and faced financial penalties up to double the underpaid amount.
Nationwide, the biggest underpayer was IT and service provide Capita Business Services, a company which holds several large government contracts and who had underpaid 5,500 workers by a combined £1.1m.
Other companies highest on the list include Pizza Express, Lidl, British Airways, Prezzo and Halfords who had all underpaid six-figure sums.
Those named locally are:
Name of company / location / total amount underpaid / number of employees affected / average owed per employee / underpayment period
- Equitas Solicitors // Preston // £15,412.15 // 72 // £214.06 // 1/8/2016-31/3/2020
- Daniel J Hair // Preston // £3,104.72 // 1 // £3,104.72 // 5/10/2015-1/7/2018
- Little Ducklings Day Nursery (Garstang) Limited // Ribble Valley // £3,157.18 // 1 // £3,157.18 // 13/7/2020-11/4/2021
- Lostock Hall Academy Trust // South Ribble // £2,993.98 // 2 // £1,496.99 // 1/9/2018-31/12/2020
- Daniel Thwaites Public Limited Company // Ribble Valley // £724.73 // 23 // £31.51 // 18/1/2019-23/10/2020
The news comes as the Government pledges that workers left out of pocket will be repaid as part of its plans to improve the economy. As part of its ‘Plan for Change’, the government says its priority is to grow the economy and raise living standards and that this can only be achieved when people have financial security while in work, with enforcement action to be taken against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.
Minister for Employment Rights Justin Madders said: “There is no excuse for employers to undercut their workers, and we will continue to name companies who break the law and don’t pay their employees what they are owed.
“Ensuring workers have the support they need and making sure they receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work is a key commitment in our Plan for Change. This will put more money in working people’s pockets, helping to boost productivity and ending low pay.”
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